Bruce Clay

Company: Bruce Clay Inc

Mr. Clay has operated as an executive with several high-technology businesses, has had a long career as a technical executive with leading Silicon Valley firms, and since 1996 has been in the Internet Business Consulting arena. Mr. Clay holds a BS in Math and Computer Science and also has his MBA from Pepperdine University. He has published many articles, has been a speaker at over 100 sessions including Search Engine Strategies, WebmasterWorld, and ad:Tech, and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, PC Week, Wired Magazine, Smart Money, apart from several books, and many more publications. He has personally authored many advanced search engine optimization tools that are available from his company web sites.

He is recognized as a Wikipedia Notable SEO: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Clay

Bruce Clay, Inc. Since 1996, http://www.bruceclay.com has been one of the leading search engine optimization web destinations. The site offers step-by-step methodologies including free interactive tools on a broad range of Internet Marketing topics, and ranks near the top of all web sites visited. Services include tool subscriptions, training classes, site assessments, consulting services, and full-service projects. The areas covered are SEO, PPC, Analytics, Branding programs, and more.

I started in the Internet Marketing field in the early days. Back in 1996, when Al Gore was inventing the internet. Then there were few advocates for the advantages of search engine ranking as it was commonly called. Business was slow and those doing it formed a cottage industry, slowly growing as expertise increased and revenues allowed. It was not until years later that it was called search engine optimization. In many ways, the early few were actually the creators of an industry, something very few people ever have an opportunity to do. Today I operate my company serving clients worldwide, through offices in Southern California, Cape Town, London and Sydney, with more to follow.

We offer many Internet Marketing services, although mostly SEO.  We have the SEOToolSet T, a collection of proprietary tools, Open Seating Training Courses,  Consulting Services, Assessments, SEO Services, and more. Additionally we offer PPC Optimization Services for selected clients, Analytics Tools, SEO Design, and Branding. Every service is tailored to the exact needs of the client.

Obvious company differentiation includes having authored industry standards such as the SEO Code of Ethics, the Search Engine Relationship Chart R, and one of the top-ranked search engine optimization sites complete with free tools and advice. Our site is great for people wanting or needing to do it themselves, instead of simply peddling services. We do our jobs following best practices, and work well in the face of competition.  We commonly differentiate ourselves by providing everything a competitor would provide, but better, and additional services as needed. We also operate a popular industry Blog and Newsletter with a great many readers. We work hard to exceed expectations.

We have seen many firms grow quickly, merge into one force to recon with, fail to integrate cultures or styles or egos, lose client support and reputation, then fail. Our approach has always been to throttle growth, remain profitable, and to service clients regardless of growth opportunities.  We often turn down business because it is simply not a fit. We consider ourselves a great success at the things that are important to us.

To choose a vendor, prospects should understand the ethics of the SEO, they should understand the methods used by the SEO to optimize a site, and they should confirm that the SEO follows SEO best practices. If the SEO is themselves ranked, that shows that there is some substance to claims that they can get the client ranked. Nothing is certain, so of course there cannot be any guarantees. Anot her "question" is to check client references for the SEO, since checking results is just the start.  Make sure things are timely, complete, and get results. And of course compare the services proposed - our experience is that proposed services from multiple firms tend to vary. Ask for justifications. And you can even ask SEO firms about each other, remembering that you would only consider firms that respond accurately and ethically.  And of course, choose wisely.

There have been many myths, and none really last very long. Almost as quickly as they are created, the internet world proves them false. We are still surprised that prospects believe that you can get away with spam if your competition is doing it. The myth, that is actually a truth, is that it takes content, best practice links, site architecture, clean fast web servers, and properly written content with the correct words to be ranked well. Throw in social marketing and behavioral search analysis and you can get any site ranked.

We have passed the critical mass threshold to a point where we have staff dedicated to research, and senior analysts that pay attention to search engine moves. With staff doing projects, and more performing research, we have become fast-followers of industry moves. As a result, we are fortunate to see both trees and the forest. Between offering an analysis of every significant search engine change for our major clients, and being the authors of advanced tools and training, we are motivated to keep current.

The future is amazing.  Look to a growing site base, and increased competition for the next few years. Local search will brow rapidly, CMS systems will be SEO-aware, Analytics will be run on all serious sites, and competitive SEO will be a part of almost every site's marketing program. The best will prevail and stratification will form.

There will be evolutionary changes within the industry.  I do an annual predictions article: http://www.bruceclay.com/newsletter/0107/2007preview.html

Our firm will continue to expand internationally, and continue our great growth rate.  We are hiring at a 50% growth rate, and expect that to continue. We will redevelop the technology and perspectives of the company to make sure we remain in front of the competition. And the nice thing is that there is plenty of business to go around.